With all the bad news about the mortgage lenders issues and home builders wrapped up in excess inventory problems, how does the person wanting to really sell their house in this Florida Real Estate market get it done ?
Well there are some hard and fast facts that are time tested and they amount to 4 steps. Note: I did not say they would be easy.
1. Price your property below the comparable sales in your neighborhood.
You have to be realistic here. So your neighbor sold his house 6 months ago at $400K and now you want to sell yours at 380K thinking that you are loosing money. Your neighbor who paid 200K for his home two year ago and made a whopping 50% profit really gets you steamed. What you have to remember is that home valuations were considered by many experts as excessive.? As long as you are making some profit…why all the fuss ? If you need the money and really have to sell at a specific price point, then take your home off the market now or continue with the following steps .
2. Don’t try to test the market.
Yep it has finally happened, the Greater Tampa Bay Florida Real Estate market has switched from a sellers market to a buyers market. You need to face the reality that if you enter your house on the market and expect to get a ton of traffic to see the new addition in your neck of the woods, and you don’t follow all (4) of these steps…then be prepared to have you home on the market for a long time, possibly a year or longer. Oh you can change Real Estate Agents as many times as you want but the results will be the same unless…. are you catching on now ? Follow the (4) steps.
3. Reduce the price of your house …..you will need a chain saw, not a pair of nail clippers.
Since the property values are in a declining state here in Florida, starting out at a reduced price that is equal to today’s current market wont’ work. You need to anticipate that the market is continuously declining and price slightly below market value to sell the property. Again you need to have a reality check here ! Do an analysis of your cash flow going out vs, in. How long can you hold onto the property; continue to pay the mortgage, insurance , principle and interest on the loan, up keep and maintenance on the property (if your lawn if 5 feet tall – prospective buyers may think the property is abandoned and and you can expect no agent will show the property) , plus continuing depreciation ? The longer your house is on the market the more out of pocket this will cause until you reach the pain threshold , your pockets are empty and now it’s time to join the rank of Florida Foreclosures ?
4. Be motivated to do what ever your agent suggests to sell.
This is an area where time and time again we see both agents and sellers failing to do what they need to do. Agents sometimes do not want to tell the sellers that they need to perform some maintenance or change the look of a room to really sell that home. Some of this is based upon fear the seller won’t like the news or may be resistant and this will reflect badly on the agents reputation. Often times it is the seller who is hung up on their home and need to make the distinction that when they put it on the market it is now a house and they need to understand that the next buyer is not necessary going to fall in-love with the murals that they hand painted on their living room walls. It doesn’t matter if it was a replica of the Sistine Chapel.
Over all you need to understand the psychology of the changing market and be willing to follow the advice of your Real-Estate professional.
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